[-King-]

Arrowhead pride dissects our wizardry and witchcraft

Chiefs' 4th Down Conversion Was Simple But Effective

by Joel Thorman on Aug 11, 2012 3:11 PM CDT

It wasn't exactly the gutsiest call but KC Chiefs head coach Romeo Crennel went for it on fourth down on the Chiefs first possession of the preseason.


With KC driving down the field, Crennel opted to keep his offense on the field and go for it on a fourth and one. The ball was on the 46-yard line so, really, this was the right decision. But it was the play call, and how it was executed, that I really liked.


It was simple, yet effective, which seems to be a theme with the very little we know about Brian Daboll so far.




This is the initial formation. Definitely looks like there's a run coming with the Chiefs power formation here. But...





The offense motions out of that formation. Now you have an empty back field with five wide. Or pretty much the exact oposite formation of what they lined up in initially. This puts the defense off balance and makes them quickly process what's going on. And, as KC learned last night, making the Cardinals defense think usually results in very good things for the Chiefs offense.


Look at the middle of the defense. That's the key area on this play.





Cassel takes the snap and lunges forward, just left of center. Look at this screen grab and compare it to the first one. The formation moved a number of Cardinals off the line of scrimmage. Something as simple as changing that can make a big difference.





If you can see him, that's Cassel sliding in there between Rodney Hudson and Ryan Lilja. Branden Albert is there on the edge pushing forward as well.


Obviously, the sneak was more than enough.
As Mitch Holthus would say, another FIRST DOWN KANSAS CITY!
He didn't do it this time, but this is a normal Cassel reaction to a play like that: